What initially emerged as a regional conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has now achieved status as a dispute of global proportions and repercussions, though after decades the driving faults behind it remain dismally unchanged. While the Palestinian nationalist movement faces the task of mending various historical defects, both sides of the conflict must now confront the responsibility of working towards a status as constructive partners, says the author.

Where will the Jihadists that are fighting in Iraq stop next? The European countries will be those most damaged in this dangerous migration, states the author. In spite of the raising of the consciousness of the police and intelligence, the European Union continues to present a permeable border. The EU borders are filled with weak points due to the imperfect coordination between member countries and spots where it is difficult to exert exhaustive control.

The revolt of Muslim children who gambled for a European paradise confirms difficult integration and the undeniable existence of hundreds of sleeper cells in Europe’s numerous countries. Why are the jihadists of the world publishing documents in English, French and German on the Internet?

In spite of the conciliatory tone of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, other types of anti-Semitic messages reach the Palestinian population through the media. This is a direct problem for Israel, but, above all, it is a worrying phenomenon for the Palestinian society that claims it deserves an independent state. An independence that should include the managing of a good education system, maintains the author.

Recently, officials in WashingtonD.C., London, and Paris have claimed that, for ordinary Iraqis, the security situation has been improved by the surge in U.S. troops. However, the Iraqi people continue to suffer, with thousands dead, millions injured, and millions more displaced. What led to this anarchic situation and how can it be contained?

Strung up between radical and polarizing militant forces, a leadership lacking credibility, and a firmly rooted history of antagonism, the Israeli and Palestinian people face a strong and ever-escalating conflict. The author claims that few of those caught in the crossfire allow themselves to hope for an end in the near future. How does a peace so long desired, so diligently debated, find itself receding progressively farther from view?

After days of a military offensive against the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, Turkey consented to withdraw its troops, in what appears to be a strategy to gain Washington’s trust and ensure that Ankara will have the possibility to carry out new, characteristically similar offensives (limited in scope and duration) in the near future. However, the Kurdish question will not be resolved until Turkey changes its mentality and puts policy before force when making decisions related to national security, states the author.

The Israeli military operation, far from its intention, strengthens Hamas

Posted by , 13th March 2008

The Middle East is experiencing a new escalation in the violence between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants. According to the analysts, the only way out involves the reestablishment of a framework for global negotiation between the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian factions of the West Bank and Gaza, an option that could lead to the creation of another National Unity Government, provided that an agreement is reached beforehand. But in order for this to happen, the author states that Israel must renounce its project of getting rid of Hamas by force.

When it tore down part of the wall at Rafah, Hamas was acting for the party’s own benefit, in an attempt to implement its Islamic Revolution program at the expense of unity between Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The author argues that Israel should lift the sanctions imposed upon Gaza and negotiate a comprehensive peace plan with Palestinian President AbuMazen for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Neighboring countries such as Egypt should partake in the dialog, and Hamas and other factions must also comply with the peace process.